


I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus

by NarryMusings



Series: The Button Chronicles [4]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Button is not a happy cat, Christmas Angst, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sexual References, christmas day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 16:10:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8923693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarryMusings/pseuds/NarryMusings
Summary: To Button, Christmas usually means watching the kids open their presents and then getting to play with the wrapping paper they leave all over the floor. But this is no ordinary Christmas.





	

Usually, Button loves Christmas morning.

She loves the excitement the sunrise brings, as Annabelle and Everett run around the living room in anticipation of opening presents from Santa Claus. Loves playing with the wrapping paper strewn all over floors. Loves the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven; loves the taste of the scraps the kids give her even more.

This Christmas, however, is no usual Christmas morning.

Usually, Button sleeps with Annabelle on Christmas. (After getting over her initial dislike of the human child, the toddler had begun to grow on Button – much like Niall did, way back when.) She sleeps at the head of the bed, right above Anna’s head on the pillow underneath the window – and she listens for reindeer hooves on the rooftop above, but she never hears them. She does hear Santa Claus moving around down in the living room, though. And usually Button falls asleep before Santa even leaves, except-

Last night, Button had not fallen asleep before Santa left. She hadn’t even stayed in bed.

In fact, she’d gone all the way downstairs to snoop instead – which is where she’d found Harry.

Harry, who was kissing Santa Claus.

Which brings her back to this Christmas morning. Usually she’s almost, if not just, as excited as the kids are. Except this morning she isn’t, because she can’t stop thinking about her human. More specifically, though, she can’t stop thinking about her human betraying _his_ human. And she’s never wished for the ability to speak more than she wishes she could right now.

Because nobody else seems to know that anything is wrong. Annabelle and Everett are running around excitedly, as per usual, Harry’s been keeping an eye on them to make sure that they don’t sneak into their gifts before breakfast is ready, and Niall’s been humming Christmas songs all morning.

She’s in the kitchen with him, sitting poised and alert on the edge of the counter whilst Niall works around her in preparing four plates of waffles. Every now and then he brushes a hand over her back, which makes her purr despite her mood, and sometimes he presses a kiss against the top of her head. He talks to her too; tells her that breakfast will be ready shortly, which means that the kids will be unwrapping their gifts – which, in turn, means that Button will get her gifts too. (She usually gets new toy mice, and at least one brand new feather teaser. Sometimes she even gets a bit of catnip. But her favourite gifts on Christmas morning are the little balls of wrapping paper Niall throws on the floor for her to play with, and she’s pretty sure that Niall knows it.)

Harry walks into the kitchen just as Niall is setting each plate with two waffles, alongside a small bowl of red grapes. Button glares at him as he saunters up behind Niall to wrap his arms around the blond’s waist, and she only barely holds back a growl as he rests his chin atop Niall’s shoulder. “The kids are getting restless, babe.”

“I know,” Niall breathes. “Get me the syrup, would you?”

Harry presses a gently kiss to Niall’s shoulder before walks across to the fridge. On his way back to where Niall is standing, a bottle of syrup in hand, he calls Anna and Everett into the kitchen.

The kids come in like a tornado – loud and destructive. They take their plates, say their thanks, and run off back into the living room.

“Christmas morning is always so hectic these days,” Harry breathes, wrapping himself once more around Niall. The ring around that one finger on his left hand shines bright in Button’s eye and she squints before moving a few steps out of the way of the glint.

“You love it though,” Niall murmurs, resting his head back against Harry’s shoulder.

“I do.”

“Me too,” Niall hums. “We better eat though, before the kids try to force feed us like last time.”

Harry laughs softly. “Yeah. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Niall says, rolling his eyes fondly.

Harry smirks at him and he draws himself away, before his gaze lands on Button. “I love you too, girlie,” he whispers, reaching out to pet her.

Button bats his hand away and hisses, before hopping down off the counter and trotting into the living room to join the children. She still hears Harry, though, as he tells Niall that she must be getting restless too.

X

Button only feels slightly guilty. Only _slightly_ , and only because she didn’t mean to hurt Harry – even if he does deserve it.

She watches, from where she’s perched herself underneath the Christmas tree, amongst the wrapping paper and the toys, as Harry winces when Niall takes a cloth to where Button had swiped at Harry’s hand and scratched him long and deep. She’s never scratched at Harry before, so her doing so as Harry had merely reached out towards her for a cuddle had taken everybody – especially Harry – by surprise.

Niall, bless his heart, had moved swiftly into action in going into the kitchen to get a cold cloth to tend to Harry’s wound, as Button had jumped down from the back of the sofa before making room for herself under the tree. The kids had sat in a moment of shock for all of 10 seconds before they started playing with their toys again.

And for the second time this morning, Button wishes she knew how to speak so she could tell Niall that his human is a cheater.

X

Niall finds her a little while later. She’s lying amongst her stash of wrapping paper, licking at her paws when he sits down beside her. “You’re not going to swipe at me, are you?” he asks softly.

Button purrs, tilts her head up to seek out his hand – so he pets her gently.

“What’s the matter, hmm?” Niall asks, voice but a whisper as he scratches behind her ears.

And, God, she wishes she could tell him.

“You never get mad at Harry,” Niall hums. “Like- Ever. So what did he do, huh? How’d he manage to piss you off.”

Button stands, then, and crawls into his lap. She sits facing him, looking up at him as maybe if she concentrates hard enough Niall will understand what she’s trying to say to him.

Niall smiles down at her, and rubs a hand down her back – which she arches into. “Remember when it used to be me you were mad at all the time? Because I do – and I have to say, it didn’t feel very nice. So, I mean, imagine how Harry feels, yeah?”

And, well, Button can’t really bring herself to care about how Harry feels right now.

“He loves you so much, princess,” Niall murmurs, picking her up. He brings her into his chest for a cuddle, and she purrs as she cuddles into him, knocking the top of her head against the underside of Niall’s jaw. (Somebody has to love Niall.) “His hand is going to be okay though. The scratch shouldn’t swell too much. And Annabelle has given it enough kisses to heal it anyway.

“He’s still sad though. He thinks you hate him, and he doesn’t know why. So do me a favour, yeah? Be nice to him, and show him that you love him. I’m sure he didn’t mean whatever stupid thing he did.”

He almost sounds convincing, Button thinks. In fact, if she hadn’t seen Harry last night, she might have believed Niall.

Niall stands, then, and takes her with him into the kitchen, where Harry is supervising the children as they attempt to make their first batch of cookies with Annabelle’s Easy-Bake oven – and she knows, straight away, what he’s doing. He’s bringing her to Harry.

“She still looks furious,” Harry says wearily.

“She’s fine,” Niall murmurs.

“Yeah, with you.”

“Just- Here-“

Button hisses and meows and struggles against Niall until he finally lets her go. And then she runs back into the living room and ducks under the tree to hide behind the open boxes and mess of toys that Niall had placed back under the tree after the kids had opened them all.

She needs a plan. She needs to figure out how to communicate with Niall that Harry is cheating on him with Santa Claus…

X

First, she knocks a plastic Santa Claus ornament off the tree and carries it to Niall in her mouth. But Niall just smiles, shakes his head, and places it back on the tree before tossing her her new, purple mouse.

Then, she knocks small wooden Santa Claus decoration off the fireplace mantle – and all she gets out of that is a scolding from Niall because she knows she’s not supposed to be up there.

After that, she gets a hold of Everett’s Santa Claus hat and brings it to Niall. But all Niall does with it – which is something she’s sure, in hindsight, she should have predicted – is put it on her head and take a picture.

Then it’s anything Santa Claus related that she can get her paws on. Anything, and everything. (A piece of wrapping paper. A dish cloth. A salt shaker.)

Nothing works.

X

Button doesn’t know what to do, and she’s worried sick. She usually sleeps in the bed with Niall and Harry after they’ve had their fun, but she isn’t on speaking terms with Harry and so that would be weird, right? Not to mention the fact that because she can’t actually speak, Niall is going to bed with an awful, terrible cheater, and how is she supposed to condone that? How is she supposed to let Niall share the bed with Harry tonight – or any other night, for that matter?

She can hear them in the bedroom as she approaches. Can hear them whispering, can hear Harry giggling – and she hates how the sound tugs at her heartstrings. So she stands just outside the door so that they can’t hear her, so that she can eavesdrop.

“I’m not wearing that,” she hears Niall say.

“C’mon, please.”

“No, I wore it yesterday and it was way too hot.”

Harry hums. “’s not like you’ll be in it for very long anyway.”

“Then why don’t I just stay like this? Much easier to just take off me pants and nothing else.”

“But you looked so good last night.”

Niall scoffs. “I don’t know what kind of weird fantasy or kinks you’ve got going on tonight, but I’m not wearing the suit.”

“But, Niall,” Harry whines, drawing Niall’s name out the way he does when he really, really wants something that Niall won’t give him.

“I literally wore that last night just in case Anna came downstairs – I’m not wearing that thing tonight just so you can fuck me in it.”

“Actually, I was thinking you could fuck me…”

There’s a silent pause, and then-

“No.”

“W-wait, to what? No to fucking me in your Santa Claus costume, or no to fucking me in general?”

“Both.”

Only, Button barely hears Niall’s response anyway, because she’s stuck on what Harry just said. _‘Your Santa Claus costume’_ …

Does that mean…? No, it couldn’t mean… Niall doesn’t own a Santa Claus costume.

Does he?

“If I tell you you don’t have to fuck me in your Santa Claus costume, will you still fuck me?”

“Maybe,” Niall hums. “If you ask really nicely.”

“Please?”

“Just- Let me close the door.”

And then suddenly Niall is there, dressed in nothing but his pants, looking down at Button with a smile. Button takes the opportunity to peek her head around the corner, sees Harry peeling his shirt off over his head – and then her gaze lands on the red suit draped over the end of the bed, and-

Oh.

“Haz, I think somebody wants to apologize to you,” Niall murmurs.

“Tell her I’m busy getting naked,” Harry says, from where he’s sitting on the edge of bed on the other side of the room, his back to the door. “She can apologize to me in the morning.”

“Too late,” Niall giggles, as Button walks into the room.

She makes a beeline for the bed, like she’s on the prowl – only the only thing she wants is Harry. She feels guilty, and sad, and terrible, and mad at nobody but herself.

She knocks her forehead against the back of Harry’s arm, and then rubs the length of her body along his forearm until he picks her up and cradles her against. She purrs, and purrs, and nuzzles her face against his neck, and purrs, and licks the underside of his jaw because it’s the only way she knows how to apologize.

For the third time today, Button finds herself wishing she could speak so that she could apologize to her human. She should have known better. Harry loves Niall, and there’s no way that Harry would ever hurt Niall – just like he would never hurt her. She’s knows Harry better than that, has always known Harry’s heart, and yet she’d let her imagination get away from her – and she wishes, more than anything in the whole world, that she could explain it to him.

“I love you too, my girl,” Harry whispers. He holds her out in front of him, then, and presses a gently kiss against the tip of her nose – which she reciprocates by licking at his. “And I’m sorry too, for whatever I did.”

“Alright, alright,” Niall mutters, despite the small smile on his face as he comes around the corner of the bed. He plucks her out of Harry’s arms, and then carries her back towards the door. “You can make it up to tomorrow with cuddles all day, yeah? Right now we’re busy.”

She stares up at him from the floor.

“I’ll come get you after.”

The door closes, then, the last thing she hears before walking away, no longer worried, is Harry-

“Can you at least put on the hat?”


End file.
